Spirit Ginseng

"Good! Since Master Zhou has spoken, we'll give him face! Brothers, let's go!"

Qingwen Long gritted his teeth and forced out a few polite words despite his ugly expression. Then he turned around and led his men away.

The crowd watching from all around immediately let out a chorus of jeers.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Qingwen Long fled in disgrace, his face turning from green to white. Having suffered a crushing blow to his pride, fury burned fiercely in his chest.

But in the end, he did not stop. Instead, he quickened his pace and led his men away.

Although he had the Black Tiger Gang backing him and could bully merchants and run rampant through the market, he also knew who he could provoke and who he could not.

Especially since he had suffered a setback a year ago. Back then, when Zhou Weilong had established his martial arts school, he had gone there intending to teach this unruly outsider a lesson.

In the end, someone had crushed his iron cudgel in front of his face, inadvertently making the other man's reputation.

That incident had scared him badly.

But now—

It had happened last time, and it had happened again this time!

His pride had been trampled one blow after another.

With old and new grudges piling up, Qingwen Long's face grew so dark it seemed water could be wrung from it. The venomous hatred in his heart nearly drowned him!

"Big Brother, that fellow surnamed Zhou is bullying us like this just because he has some martial strength. Are we really going to let it go?!"

One of the underlings following behind stepped forward and spoke indignantly:

"How about I wait until dark and burn down that worthless Weilong Martial Arts School of his?"

"Let's see how long he can keep acting arrogant!"

"No, don't act rashly!"

Qingwen Long's face twitched slightly, revealing a savage expression.

"Don't worry. That fellow surnamed Zhou won't be jumping around for much longer!"

"This past year, ever since that fellow surnamed Zhou opened a martial arts school and started teaching disciples, those dirt-legged peasants who joined the school have relied on knowing a few farming moves to refuse protection fees and injure members of our gang. Do you know how much trouble they've caused our Black Tiger Gang?!"

"The gang leader and the others absolutely won't sit by and do nothing!"

"When we go back, we'll report this matter. We'll let the gang leader decide. Once the gang decides to deal with that fellow surnamed Zhou, we'll settle every grievance and repay every grudge!"

Qingwen Long ground his teeth and spoke viciously.

Yang Qingyun, who had clashed with him earlier, was also implicated and ended up on the blacklist of those he was determined to take revenge against!

"Qingyun, don't blame me for overstepping, but this man is a mid-level leader of the Black Tiger Gang in town. Although his strength is nothing special and killing him would be no trouble, the Black Tiger Gang's leader, Sitting Tiger, is formidable. He reached the mid Viscera Refining Realm many years ago, and after years of tempering himself, his strength is even more unfathomable now!"

"When beating a dog, one still has to consider its master. In the end, we should give him some face."

Zhou Weilong had clearly sensed the fleeting killing intent Yang Qingyun had revealed earlier, so he spoke up to placate and explain.

"I see. Then I have to thank you for the reminder, Brother Zhou!"

Yang Qingyun wore an expression of sudden realization, but inwardly he was somewhat dismissive.

For trashy low-level thugs like this, one could tell without guessing that after losing face, he would certainly bear a grudge. The reason he had retreated was merely that circumstances had forced him to lower his head for the time being.

The moment he found an opportunity, he would definitely strike back viciously and bite them in return.

A petty man who kept grudges at every moment and always wanted to stab others in the back was best dealt with by killing him cleanly.

Still, it was not bad that Master Zhou had come forward to mediate.

He had only just arrived and was unfamiliar with both the people and the place, so he should first stay here peacefully for a while.

He would use the spoils he had scavenged from Black Wind Mountain to steadily improve his Martial Path Realm before worrying about anything else.

Having lived in this world for thirty years in his Previous Life, he knew very well that only one's fists formed the foundation that decided everything.

The group left the market,

and entered the city.

Yang Qingyuan declined Zhou Weilong's invitation to stay at the martial arts school.

He had too many secrets, and he was not short of money for the time being, so it was not suitable for him to stay in someone else's home.

Thus, he merely asked Zhou Weilong to help him find a relatively quiet, separate courtyard in the city and rented it.

According to Yang Qingyun's plans, he would probably remain here for some time.

He would raise his strength as much as possible, and only after gaining a certain ability to protect himself would he seek out some of the opportunities and fortuitous encounters from his memories.

Once everything had been settled, Wang Zhu, who had been following behind and handling odd jobs all along, came to find Yang Qingyun. He presented a black wooden box, roughly a foot long, that looked like a lucky find,

and lowered his head as he pleaded for forgiveness:

"Young Master Yang, this time at the market, I met a mountain dweller. That mountain dweller had a roughly three-hundred-year-old Old Mountain Ginseng, but he didn't dare show it openly at the market because he was afraid someone would snatch it. As it happened, his family needed livestock, so he secretly asked me whether I was willing to trade. I remembered that you had previously told us to search for medicinal herbs, Young Master, and figured that this three-hundred-year-old Old Mountain Ginseng should be useful to you. So I took the liberty of exchanging two horses for it with that mountain dweller."

"It was also during the transaction that I attracted the attention of that hooligan Qingwen Long, causing trouble for you. Please forgive me, Young Master!"

"There's no need for that. This was your achievement, so how could I blame you?"

Yang Qingyun's eyes brightened when he heard this. He accepted the wooden box while encouraging and reassuring Wang Zhu.

He had not expected that although he had failed to find a lucky bargain at the market, Wang Zhu, whom he had assigned to handle the spoils, would find one instead. Things had certainly taken a surprising turn.

But when he opened the wooden box

and saw the ginseng inside clearly, his pupils abruptly contracted, and his words even halted for a moment.

He slowly closed the box and asked casually, "Do you know where that mountain dweller picked this mountain ginseng?"

"Not really. During our idle conversation, he said that he had gone into the mountains to hunt and was chased by two wild boars. In his panic, he accidentally stumbled into a forbidden area deep in the mountains where the mountain god resided. The two wild boars were killed by the mountain god in the blink of an eye, while he discovered this mountain ginseng as he fled blindly in terror and brought it out with him."

Wang Zhu pondered for a moment before answering.

Yang Qingyun nodded, his face revealing not the slightest emotion.

"This mountain ginseng is extremely useful to me! You've rendered great service. Tell me, what would you like as a reward? Gold and silver, or something else?"

Wang Zhu was overjoyed at once. He looked a little eager, yet also somewhat bashful.

"There's a boy in my family who has always wanted to practice martial arts. I wonder if I could ask Young Master to teach him a move or two of those farming techniques?"

"Of course. Bring him to the city, and I'll give him some guidance."

Yang Qingyuan paused, and his gaze became somewhat profound.

"Go find that mountain dweller. If you can locate the place where the mountain god appeared and come back to tell me, then not only will I teach your child a move or two, I can also refine some pills and guarantee that your child will directly reach the Martial Arts Entry Realm and become a true martial artist!"

"Thank you, Young Master! Thank you, Young Master!"

"Please rest assured, Young Master! Even if I have to risk my life, I'll definitely find that place for you!"

Wang Zhu cried out in delight and repeatedly thumped his chest in assurance.

Yang Qingyun nodded

and waved for him to leave.

Only after Wang Zhu departed with his heart brimming with joy did the room fall silent, leaving Yang Qingyun alone.

Yang Qingyun opened the wooden box once more. As he gazed at the Old Mountain Ginseng lying quietly inside, faint white mist curling around it and a crystalline, translucent thread running from its stem to its leaves, his gaze grew deep, and his heart could not help but surge with excitement:

"This is a spirit ginseng—a spirit ginseng that can only grow in places where spiritual energy is sufficiently abundant!"

"In this era, before spiritual energy has even begun to recover, how could something like this possibly appear?!"